Tackling the challenges of university campus management processes

A majority of universities occupy expensive campuses that incorporate outdated designs and low utilization rates while campus users can conduct working and learning activities from a distance. For instance, Massive Open Online Courses and totally virtual universities allow self-education virtually free of charge. In this complex environment, campus managers face a strategic alignment problem between supporting research, education and societal impact. Strategic alignment in corporate real estate is an act of aligning the services with the core business. To outline the dynamic conditions of campus management processes, this paper explores two cases in the University of Melbourne main campus. It aims to answer: 1) What kinds of challenges does campus management encounter in strategic alignment? and 2) How do the explored cases aim to tackle the challenges? The literature overview discusses strategic alignment. Thereafter, ten campus management organization interviews are reported based on analysis in a qualitative research analysis software Atlas.ti. Conceptual guidelines of strategic alignment are drawn. University campus process challenges can be tackled by, for example: real time Big data of built environment for future foresight; Integrated services for economical paucity; Cross-pollination for institutional sharing; and Open access to information services for functional flexibility.